I have to disagree about several points, though I am hardly an insider on the details.

I believe that Bob Carver's designs and reputation put Sunfire "on the map." After all, he created that reputation with the Phase Linear products, and Bob's "post-cube" ("Tracking Downconvertor" vs "Magnetic Field") power supply design was the heart of both Lightstar and Sunfire amplifiers. According to Bob's own whitepapers, the two amplifiers were not that different. (I cannot speak for the "CarverPro" commercial amplifier line, since I have never heard anything from it.) Carver Corp. essentially died when Bob left to form Sunfire Corp. I recieved an email notice from Sunfire Corp. that stated they eventually acquired Carver Corp.

I have heard the Lightstar, but was never able to compare it directly to a first generation Sunfire under identical controlled conditions. When it came time to purchase, I chose Sunfire over the Lightstar for several reasons:

(1) Sunfire Corp had Bob Carver, the man, and Carver Corp only had his name and a static snapshot of his great designs. I figured this would be a devastating blow to Carver Corp, that would probably lead to its demise.
(2) I figured the design team Bob would assemble, would be able to improve on his designs, better than any team left behind, if not immediately, then at some point in the future.
(3) Bob Carver would actively ensure that (2) became a reality, because he was sufficiently UN-amused.

I believe I guessed correctly on all counts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryDelColliano

There is a big difference between Sunfire and Carver.

Nortek owns Sunfire and has Bob Carver on staff. Carver the brand was owned by Phoenix Gold and was going to relaunch but it never happened. Randy Bingham (the guy who put Sunfire on the map) was there to do it but the project lost its $$$. Randy is now doing very well with growing Krell.